The Santa Clara Sporting Soccer Club and soccer family lost club patriarch Abel Azevedo yesterday when he passed-away after fighting a long battle against cancer.

Abel was born in Sao Bartolomeu, on the island of Terceira, Azores, Portugal. He was 13 years old when he immigrated to this country, and was extremely passionate about soccer. Abel was very involved with Santa Clara Sporting since the late 1970’s; first as a player for the Men’s Team, then as a player for the Over 35 Team. Abel served many roles for Sporting including: President, Vice-President and Director, and he was instrumental in the growth and success of the club. He also spent thousands of hours volunteering every weekend to run the Bingo Hall, and was always wiling to give his time for the kids and the club.

Abel was personally driven to make soccer available to all kids regardless of their financial status, and was always the first one to try to help the kids who needed a helping hand. He was also a giant supporter of the Goals for a Cure effort and proud to see the club expand into the local community with support to fight breast cancer while he battled colon cancer in his own heroic fight.

"He fought cancer like I’ve never seen anyone fight before and never gave up," said Sebastian Goncalves, President of Santa Clara Sporting. "I will always remember these words from my old friend, "talk less and listen more."

Abel’s brother-in-law Gustavo Moguel said today, "He fought his illness like a gladiator, never giving-up and willing to conquer it everyday. The one trait that I most respect about Abel was his ability to continue to be kind, hardworking, a good father/grandfather and a great friend throughout his fight with cancer."

He enjoyed the simple things of life; a good soccer match, a glass of red wine and his family. He is survived by his wife, Sonia and his precious daughter Bianca (Justin), His two grandchildren, Logan and Layla, were the light of his life. They brought him so much joy and love. He is also survived by siblings: Gabriel, Luis (Tania), John (Teresa), Maria (Gustavo) and Tony (Tammy).